W227BF (93.3 FM) is a

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

broadcasting

Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting the African American community, carrying mostly important national news hea ...

programming from the HD2 subcarrier of

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

KQQL KQQL (107.9 MHz, KOOL 108) is a commercial FM radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market and is licensed to suburban Anoka. It plays classic hits and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Utica Av ...

Licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Shoreview, Minnesota Shoreview is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota. The population was 25,043 at the time of the 2010 census. In 2008, Shoreview ranked fourth in a ''Family Circle'' list of best family towns. Geography According to the United States Census Burea ...

, it serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area inside the

I-494 Interstate 494 (I-494) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway making up part of a beltway of I-94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. The road is coupled with I- ...

I-694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US H ...

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. All the offices and studios are located in St. Louis Park and the transmitter is atop the

IDS Center The IDS Center is an office skyscraper located at 80 South 8th Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Completed in 1972, it is the tallest building in Minneapolis, and the tallest building in the state at a height of . It originally stood , thou ...

in downtown

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

History

On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that KQQL's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on hit music from the 1980s. The HD2 station, called Kool 1-0-80s, showcased every song to ever hit the Top 40 in the 1980s. During summer 2011, the HD2 subchannel changed programming to a simulcast of AM radio station

KFXN KFXN-FM (100.3 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and serves the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmi ...

('The Score'). On September 8, 2011, the "Score" sports format began airing exclusively on KQQL-HD2 as their former signal (690 AM) was flipped to Asian programming. In August 2012, the HD2 subchannel was changed back to Kool 1-0-80s, now

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...

's "My 80s", with the same 1980s hits format it had before. On May 23, 2014, KQQL-HD2 changed their format to

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

and began simulcasting on FM translator W227BF (93.3 FM), licensed to Shoreview. Soon after, it started stunting with several types of music, changing every few days.

On June 13, 2014, KQQL-HD2 changed their format to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

, branded as "ALT 93.3". The format competed against locally owned KQGO "GO 96.3" as well as

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

KCMP KCMP (89.3 FM, 89.3 The Current) is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts a AAA music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to Northfield, Minnesota and covering the Minneapo ...

"89.3 The Current." KQQL's Kool 1-0-80s format eventually moved to KQQL's HD3 channel, in addition to translator W244CS (96.7) in the Southeast metro. On June 12, 2015 KQQL-HD3 and W244CS changed their format to an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-oriented dance format, branded as " 96.7 Pride Radio." On April 18, 2018, the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

announced that “ALT” would be their new radio home for the 2018 season. Effective May 30, 2019,

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...

sold W227BF and five other translators to

, which already supplied programming to the translators, in exchange for

WEKL WEKL, known on-air as " K-Love", is a Contemporary Christian radio station in the United States, licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to Augusta, Georgia, broadcasting on 102.3 MHz with an ERP of 1.5 kW. Its stud ...

, WSFF, WSNZ, and WLRX. On June 29, 2020, fifteen iHeart stations in markets with large African American populations, including W227BF/KQQL-HD2, began stunting with African American speeches, interspersed with messages such as "Our Voices Will Be Heard" and "Our side of the story is about to be told," with a new format slated to launch on June 30. That day, W227BF/KQQL-HD2, along with the other fourteen stations, became the launch stations for the

, an African American-oriented

all-news All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

network.iHeartMedia Launches Black Information Network
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References

External links

BIN 93.3
* * * {{All-News Radio Radio stations in Minnesota IHeartMedia radio stations Radio stations established in 2014 2014 establishments in Minnesota Black Information Network stations All-news radio stations in the United States